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F. E. Blaauw — About Birds in North America



both in shape and behaviour but had no long tail ( Psaltriparus

minimus). I was told that they were resident in the park. I also saw

a few Siskins, of which the males were yellowish-green, with black

heads. On a small lake were several Coots with young, which were

pearly-grey with dark necks and horn-coloured bills.


One of the great sights of San Francisco is that of the seal rocks,

which are, or rather the rocky coast opposite is, easily reached by

electric tram. Just opposite the rocks is Cliffhouse, a large restaurant,

which, however, at the time of my visit, was closed, it not being able

to exist on visitors that were only allowed to drink ice-water. A little

to the right of Cliffhouse is, however, a small Japanese tea-house, and

this is the best place imaginable from which to observe the rocks.

The group consists chiefly of three large rocks, although there are some

smaller ones. In the middle towers the largest rock, which forms a

huge stone pyramid. On the north side is a smaller, more flattened

rock, whilst on the south side there is a small one shaped much like

the middle one, but not nearly so high.


The low flat rock is preferred by the Sea Lions, as it is the easiest

one to get on to, but the others are also used when wind or high water

make the flat rock undesirable. At the time of my visit there were

about sixty Sea Lions on the rocks, and from the little tea-house it

was quite amusing to watch their doings. The sea round the rocks

was apparently full of fish, for every moment one of the animals would

drop into the water and get up with a fish, which he would swallow with

his head above the surface. These were Steller’s Sea Lions, and the

males attained a great size. This kind is not to be confused with

the Sea Lions we see in captivity in Europe, specially as performing

animals in the circus. Those belong to a smaller species which occurs

from Golden Gate southward (Zalophus californianus), whilst Steller’s

Sea Lion extends northwards from Golden Gate.


The upper part of the central rocky pyramid was inhabited by a

large colony of small black Cormorants ( Phalacrocorax brandti), who,

at the time of my visit, were nesting. The greater number of the nests

had chicks in them, whilst others were apparently still incubating.

The rock on the south side was generally covered by great numbers of

blue Gulls with white heads and red bills (Heermann’s Gulls), and also



